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"Either way, the concentration of wealth at the very top is much higher now than it ever was during the Gilded Age. And these are numbers from last year, before the SpaceX IPO. The robber barons were pikers compared with today’s oligarchs." paulkrugman.substack.com/p/meet-the-n...

paulkrugman.substack.comMeet the New Bosses, Worse Than the Old BossesThe second Gilded Age is much uglier than the first

timplex.bsky.social

@timplex.bsky.social

15 June

What has been the relation between innovation and wealth inequality? As inequality decreased from 1930-1980 we saw invention of transistor, laser, computer, satellite. Late 1800’s gave us telephone, light bulb, automobile but not sure how that aligned with wealth inequality.

ryan cooper

@ryanlcooper.com

the intuitive argument is strong. when the masses have lots of spending power there is a strong incentive to invent new stuff to sell to them. when 5 guys have it all and don't spend it on anything but luxury yachts and whatnot much less so!

15/6/26, 4:03 pm1 repost13 likes

timplex.bsky.social

@timplex.bsky.social

15 June

Counter argument is that large organizations grow inefficient, with diffusion of responsibility and risk aversion. E.g., Musk has made risky bets on EV’s, rockets, satellites. But as we see with AI these investments can become too distant from broad demand, serving only oligarch interests